Cash
But No Wallet
L A N T A N A, Fla. Some crooks may leave a candy trail at a crime scene, and other craftier ciminals may leave a calling card to taunt investigators. Police say Alfonso Valbuena went one better: He left his entire wallet with identification.
Valbuena, 22, walked into a Mobil gas station on New Year's Day, pulled out his wallet, and asked for change for a $20 bill, police said.
When the clerk opened the register, Valbuena allegedly drew a semiautomatic handgun and demanded the money.
He then sped off with about $200 in stolen cash, but not without forgetting something at the scene, said Paul Miller, a spokesman for the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office.
"He took the $20 bill out of his wallet, and when he pulled the gun out he left the wallet behind," Miller said.
When police arrived at the scene, they looked inside and found three traffic citations given to Valbuena. After matching the address to a partial license plate number spotted by the store clerk, officers arrested Valbuena at his home.
"He was no brain surgeon," said Miller. "Sometimes we get lucky."
Valbuena was charged with armed robbery and held at the Palm Beach County Jail. Miller said Valbuena's apparent memory problems would not be a problem behind bars.
"He doesn't need a wallet where he is now," he noted.
L A N T A N A, Fla. Some crooks may leave a candy trail at a crime scene, and other craftier ciminals may leave a calling card to taunt investigators. Police say Alfonso Valbuena went one better: He left his entire wallet with identification.
Valbuena, 22, walked into a Mobil gas station on New Year's Day, pulled out his wallet, and asked for change for a $20 bill, police said.
When the clerk opened the register, Valbuena allegedly drew a semiautomatic handgun and demanded the money.
He then sped off with about $200 in stolen cash, but not without forgetting something at the scene, said Paul Miller, a spokesman for the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office.
"He took the $20 bill out of his wallet, and when he pulled the gun out he left the wallet behind," Miller said.
When police arrived at the scene, they looked inside and found three traffic citations given to Valbuena. After matching the address to a partial license plate number spotted by the store clerk, officers arrested Valbuena at his home.
"He was no brain surgeon," said Miller. "Sometimes we get lucky."
Valbuena was charged with armed robbery and held at the Palm Beach County Jail. Miller said Valbuena's apparent memory problems would not be a problem behind bars.
"He doesn't need a wallet where he is now," he noted.
